Tourism in the Caribbean: Trends, Development, Prospects

Tourism in the Caribbean: Trends, Development, Prospects

Synopsis

The Caribbean is one of the premier tourist destinations in the world. Changes in travel patterns, markets and traveller motivations have brought about considerable growth and dramatic change to the region's tourism sector. This book brings together a high calibre team of international researchers to provide an up-to-date assessment of the scope of tourism and the nature of tourism development in the Caribbean. Divided into three parts, the book:- gives an overview of existing tourism trends in the region- addresses tourism development issues, including sustainability, ecotourism, heritage tourism, community participation, management implications, and linkages with agriculture- considers future trends, including an assessment of recent world events and their impacts on tourism in the region, and future trends in terms of airlift, economic sustainability and markets.A valuable resource for students of tourism and Caribbean studies, as well as governments, and national and regional tourism offices, this topical volume brings together excellent contributions to assess and analyze the state of the Caribbean tourism; past, present and future.

Excerpt

Ten years ago, almost to the date, I was involved in archaeological investigations on the island of St Vincent under the direction of Professor Louis Allaire, now retired from the University of Manitoba. In the late afternoons, after all the artifacts (mostly sherds of pottery) were washed and catalogued, I often found myself hopping in our rented 4 × 4 and exploring the southern part of the island. I recall marvelling at how few hotels I would see outside of the main town of Kingstown, and even there they were relatively few and far between. In fact, my genuine academic interest in tourism in the Caribbean can be pinpointed to a chance meeting I had in downtown Kingstown with a family of four, dressed more or less stereotypically as mass tourists: freshly-pressed polo shirts, white sneakers and wide straw hats (perhaps purchased locally - I wasn't entirely certain). In my consummate effort to be an 'alternative tourist', despite not even being aware of the existence of such a creature at the time, I was barefoot and wearing a ratty T-shirt and a pair of rather dirty and faded shorts which, without a doubt, had seen more prosperous days. In a rather meagre attempt at 'doing ethnography' (I was, after all, undertaking graduate work in Anthropology), I asked the family what brought them to St Vincent, especially given that it appeared to be, at least to my non-tourist eyes, such an undeveloped tourism destination. After all, there were only a handful of white sand beaches on the island. In answer to this question, which was undoubtedly perceived as rather intrusive (much like stand-up comedy, delivery is everything in ethnographic research - I have since become much more adept), they replied, quite simply, that their travel agent had recommended it for that very reason: it was unspoiled, lacked the throngs of people, and was inexpensive in comparison to other more developed islands nearby, particularly Barbados.

Since that chance meeting, the issue of tourism in the Caribbean has occupied the forefront of my mind. I watched with great interest as the Windward Islands were embroiled in a bitter dispute over bananas and preferential trade arrangements in the 1990s. Entire families, some of whom I got to know reasonably well, faced economic ruin. Many thought of getting work in tourist resorts in other islands. One year later, on my first